hidden treasure.

I'm not sure why the kingdom is such a "hot topic" in my brain right now (Wow. That's kind of an awkward sentence...), but it is. To my disappointment (and yours too, I'm sure), this post is coming later than I would have liked. But I'm just going to roll with it.

Last week, I went to a mid-week service at Antioch Community Church. And to try and describe it in English would not do the service justice. "Off-the-chain", "crazy sauce", and "insane-in-the-membrane" all fail in allowing me to accurately express my feelings towards that night.

If you know me, you know that since reading Shane Claiborne's Irresistible Revolution about two-and-a-half years ago, my life has, well, been upset. No, not "angry" upset. But upset in the "they-were-supposed-to-cream-the-other-team-but-they-lost" sense. In the same way that Jesus flipped Israel's law on its head, my life has been turned upside-down. (I'd like to note that it wasn't the book itself that shook things up, but rather the questions and concepts it raised. In searching for answers, I've turned to the Bible, which has been the sole source of my unrest.)

Anyway, rather than giving you a short synopsis of my life, presenting my reason for starting this blog, or convincing you to read the Irresistible Revolution, I'd like to share with you what the pastor said last Wednesday night.

Matthew 13:44

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field."

I've read this passage several times, but what I never really grasped or noticed was that this man re-hid the treasure. Yes, selling his possessions to buy the field was one thing. But selling his possessions to buy the field that may or may not still contain the treasure was another.

That, my friends, was a huge risk.

After much more eloquently making this point, Carl (the pastor) went on to make a connection between the boredom we sometimes feel towards Christianity. We've boiled "following Christ" down to being nice, going to church, and having a quiet time. And no wonder we're bored?! We're sitting on the bench, while the most exciting football game of all time is being played in front of us. We're like gymnasts laying down on the high beam in the middle of the Olympics - as Carl's analogy described.

We play it safe.

But if the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure in a field that a man bought after selling everything he owned, what are we doing? If we really lived like that, Christianity wouldn't be boring. If we really lived like that, how would our world be different?

How are you living? Are you a part of that kingdom?

(So many questions, oh boy! That's all thanks to Socrates and Plato's Republic, which I am currently reading.)